Freedom
by Krish11762
Summary: Neglected Naruto, but not an exaggerated one. Long update timings, until my other story is over. Constructive criticism is need. Reviews are appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

Forgotten.

That was how Naruto felt as he watched his parents train his sister, Natsumi. Every since he could talk he could feel the difference in the way his parent Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina, treated them.

While they didn't outright neglect him, they didn't treat him properly either. His sister was always the center of attention in the house. No one could deny that she was spoiled. Sha had a loud voice and tended to yell a lot but his parents never said anything about it.

Once again, his parents had brought her to their personal training ground to help her get stronger. He remembered how he started to be forgotten.

_Flashback_

_Naruto and Natsumi were at the table, having their usual breakfast a 6 year old would have. That is, until Minato appeared, followed by their mother Kushina._

_"Natsumi-chan." Minato spoke, smiling. "Today is the day that you start your training."_

_"Really?!" She squealed, jumping up and down and hugged her father. "Thank you so much Tou-chan!"_

_Minato grinned at the joy his daughter was letting out, but was completely oblivious to his son._

_Naruto felt happy for his sister, but couldn't help but feel hurt when his father didn't say anything about him. However, Kushina had noticed the frown on his face._

_"You too Naruto. Your both going to be great ninjas one day." She said smiling, ruffling his blonde hair._

_Naruto frown quickly turned into a cheerful grin as he hugged his mother. "Thank you Kaa-chan!"_

_Time skip, a few months later._

_"That's right Natsumi-chan. Now just focus on keeping the leaf stuck to your forehead." Minato whispered as Natsumi face clenched up in concentration._

_"Tou-chan." Naruto called out. "What should I do?"_

_"The leaf concentration exercise Naruto." Minato replied, but his eyes were fized on his daughter._

_"I already did that." Naruto said showing his father the leaf on his forehead._

_"Then do with two." Minato said automatically._

_"I did that too." Naruto said holding two more leaves on his hand. "I did it with three leaves two weeks ago._

_"Nii-san!" Natsumi cried out of irritation. "I'm trying to concentrate!"_

_"Why don't you take some rest Naruto?" Minato said, turning away for a second._

_"But I didn't even do anything today." Naruto said but his words fell on deaf ears. Seeing how his father wasn't listening, Naruto had no choice but to go back inside the house."_

_As he walks inside the house he can't help but think. "Why does Tou-san keep ignoring me? I did everything correctly..."_

_"Naruto?" A voice called out. Naruto looked up to see his mother infront if him. "What are you doing here? Weren't you doing your training with Natsumi?"_

_Naruto face fell. "Tousan told me to take a break."_

_"But didn't you just start?" She asked confused._

_"Yeah. I didn't even do anything but he told me to go inside. He was only helping Natsumi too." Naruto said disheartened._

_"I'm sure he didn't do that in purpose." She said, trying and failing to cheer him up. "Okay then Naruto, why don't I give you some kenjutsu training?"_

_Naruto's mood did a flip. "Really?" He asked excited._

_Kushina nodded and motioned him to follow her. "We aren't going to do anything big. Just a few katas, holding and swinging a sword. Why don't you wait there until I get changed?"_

_"Okay Kaachan." He said running towards the other training ground. He always found kenjutsu fascinating and had always wanted to try it out, even if it was to hold a sword properly._

_When he arrived at the ground, he reached up and opened the doors. He entered inside and found himself facing a long sword. It's hilt had a white swirl on it while the rest of the sword had a blood red colour._

_"I see you found Kaachan's sword." Kushina whispered from his side. He turned to see her in her training clothes. His mother had told him and his sister stories about her time as a ninja. But what he never understood was why she stopped being one._

_Kushina walked to a side of the room and took out a ... stick._

_"A stick?!" Naruto said dismayed. Kushina couldnt help but give out a giggle at his disappointed face._

_"We can't use real swords yet Naruto-chan." She smiled. "You are just a six year old after all."_

_Naruto grumbled something about being unfair but took the stick. Kushina watched as he took a swing. She saw many flaws in his stance and the way he held the sword but said nothing. He glanced towards her._

_"Come with me Naruto." She said walking towards the many dummies._

_"Now I want you to attack the dummies with everything you've got. I'll correct you while your doing it, okay?" A nod was her answer._

_Naruto charged at the nearest dummy and gave a big slash. But he overestimated his swing as it caused him to topple over._

_Kushina tried to stifle her giggle but couldn't help but laugh at her son. "I'm sorry Naruto-chan."_

_"It's okay." Naruto said getting up from the floor. "But can you help me now?"_

_"Okay." She answered. "First show me your stance." Naruto quickly fell into a position and waited for his mother to speak._

_Your legs are way too far apart." She said at once. "And loosen up your muscles. Kenjutsu is not only about strength, its also about speed."_

_Naruto nodded and followed her instructions. The two followed this until it was noon._

_"Hey Kaachan." Naruto panted, drenched in sweat from hitting the dummy. "I wanted to ask you something."_

_"What is it Naruto-chan?" She asked._

_"Why did you stop being a ninja?" He asked._

_Kushina smiled. "That's easy. It'sbecause I wanted to take care of you and Natsumi."_

_"Yeah, but why didn't you be like Tousan? He's a ninja at times, and otherwise he's at home." Naruto questioned._

_Kushina froze._

_"And you told me and Natsumi stories about the Uzumaki." He asked further. "You told us it was true. But why didn't you look for more survivors?"_

_"Go back to the house Naruto." She said in a quiet voice._

_"But-"_

_"Just go Naruto." She repeated in an annoyed voice._

_A hurt expression crossed Naruto's face as he returned to his house._

_Time skip 1 year_

_After that incident, noone ever helped in training him. Minato was always focusing on Nasumi. Though he did ask Naruto why he wasn't coming, Naruto always answered that he would learn it when he went to the Academy. He hoped that his mother would give him lessons in kenjutsu, but after he asked those questions, she always said that she was too busy._

_So Naruto took it upon himself to learn. He went to the library and got books about chakra. While the seven year old couldn't understand the big words, he managed to understand, with the help of a librarian and a dictionary, the basic concept of chakra._

_It took him a month to unlock his chakra and another two months to be able to channel it properly. He wanted to be as strong as, if not stronger than Natsumi._

_Natsumi had become a spoiled brat during the months. After she understood that the villagers basically worshipped her and her parents never scolded her she had used it to her advantage._

_She had even teased him about not being able to train with her. At first, this had hurt Naruto deeply, but he had then gotten used to it. He had accepted the fact that his parents had loved Natsumi more than him. But the only thing he could wonder was why? Why do they love her so much? What had she done?_

_Time skip another year_

_He had finally done it. He had mastered the three basic jutsus: Kawarami, Henge and Bunshin. And the best part was that he had done it before Natsumi. For some reason, she could get the hang of Bunshin. Her clones would always appear white and dead._

_However, the most amazing part was his chains. He had been playing with his chakra, simply channeling it to parts of his body, when a chain formed from his arms when it was channeled there. After the shock wore off, he had remembered his mothers ability to do the same. He had channeled chakra again out wards to make sure he was able to do it._

_When he had gone to find his mother, he had come to a heartbreaking scene._

_His mother stood there._

_With Natsumi_

_Teaching her kenjutsu._

_He could feel tears building in his eyes. "Why always her? Why does she get everything?!"_

_He ran back inside the house straight towards his bed room. At least he would have if-_

_"Oof! Naruto you shouldn't run in- Naruto are you crying?" Minato asked, concerned as he saw the tears in his sons eyes. While Naruto didn't come for the basic training anymore, it didn't mean that Minato didn't care. It was just that the time taken to be the Hokage and to teach Natsumi didn't give him any time to be with his son._

_"W-What? No I'm not." Naruto said, wiping his face._

_"Naruto tell me -" He started but Naruto quickly ran past him._

_Naruto quickly shut the door behind him and buried his face in the pillow. All he wanted was his parents love. Just proof that they care about him just as much as Natsumi._

_He slowly drifted off to sleep._

_Mindscape_

_"So my host finally decides to visit me."_

_Naruto's eyes snapped open. Infront of him was an unfamiliar place. it seemed to be a giant sewer, with pipes leading everywhere. The water beneath him didn't seem dirty, but didn't look clean either._

_Infront of him however, was a giant cage. A scroll stood in the center. The bars were huge, but wide enough for him to slip inside. Curiosity got the better if him as he slowly walked in between the bars._

_A booming chuckle echoed around him, before a giant orange paw slammed him to the wall_

_The wind got knocked out of his lungs as his back made contact with the wall. Terrified, he looked up to see a giant fox in front of him, nine tail swishing behind while the blood red eyes stared at him._

_"So this is my jailor. Pathetic." It said letting him drop to the floor. Fear got a hold of him, as he was paralysed._

_"You wish to know why? Why your parents favour her over you?" The fox whispered. "Let me show you..."_

_The claw of the paw gave a light touch to his head. Memories flashed before his eyes. He and Natsumi's birth, the masked man, the attack, and the sealing. His father had split the Foxes chakra into yin and yang before sealing it into his children. The death god, instead of taking Minato's soul, just disappeared._

_"Your parents thought that my Yang chakra would be harder to control because the chakra keeps entering the body." The fox said, sensing Naruto's question. "So they thought by helping her get stronger, she would be able to control my chakra. They thought the seal holding my Yin was too strong for me to break._

_The Kyuubi gave Naruto a blood thirsty grin. "They thought wrong."_

_The Kyuubi shot forward, opening it's mouth, intent on swallowing the human. Naruto watched as the sharp rows of teeth came closer. A feeling of dread filled him as he closed his eyes, awaiting the pain._

_Suddenly, light blue chains explided out of Naruto's body. The chains quickly wrapped around Kyuubi's mouth._

_The Foxes eyes widened. "Damn Uzumaki blood." it growled as the chains wrapped around it. As the chains held it down, a foreign feeling began to enter its body. The foxes suddenly felt drowsy and closed his eyes._

_Naruti watched in awe as the chains immobilized the fox. Immediately after the chains stopped moving, the kyuubi's form began to shift. It grew smaller and smaller until it was the size of a normal fox._

_The chains began to retract itself back into Naruto's body as the fox started to stir. Naruto cautiously approached the fox, still scared from the sudden attack._

_When the Kyuubi woke up, it knew something was wrong. For one, the human was suddenly bigger than it. The most important thing however was this new feeling. Or to be more precise, the lack of one._

_"My...hatred... My anger... Why can't I feel it?" The fox thought shocked. "What happened to my power? My rage?!"_

_Kyuubi looked up and saw the boy. It felt his anger return, but at a much smaller scale. It quickly tackled the boy to the floor._

_"What did you do to me?!" Kyuubi screamed at Naruto's face. "What did you do to my power?!"_

_"I didn't do anything." Naruto whispered as his fright began to disappear. "The chains did it by themselves!"_

_Kyuubi growled at the boy. "Give it back!" It screamed as he tried to bite Naruto._

_Naruto shielded his face when he saw the rows of teeth infront of him. He winced when he felt his skin tear from the bite._

_"Get off me!" Naruto yelled, as he tried to shake the fox off. "I don't have your stupid power."_

_Chains once again sprouts off his arm, but this time they were much smaller. They pushed the Kyuubi off him and once again held him._

_"These chains." The Kyuubi realized. "They're giving off ... some... Aura..." It felt his anger begin to ebb away and unconciously began to stop fighting._

_The chains suddenly loosened. The kyuubi looked up and saw Naruto tugging at them._

_"I did not make them do that!" He said as the chains came of it. "See, I can't even move them. And why do you keep trying to kill me? What did I do to you?"_

_"It's not about what you did. It's what your parents did." Kyuubi said as he slowly approached the blonde. Naruto couldn't help but step back a little. "Your parents, or more precisely, your father split my chakra in two and sealed each one in you and your sister. Why wouldn't I try to break out?"_

_"Can't you get out without killing me?" Naruto asked._

_"No." The kyuubi replied. "Atleast I don't think so. This is a complicated piece of fuinjutsu." He said, gesturing at the seal on the gate._

_"Fuinjutsu? You mean sealing?" Naruto asked, sitting down as the fox curled next to him._

_"Obviously." Kyuubi answered, as his tails began to swish around. Naruto couldn't help but want to touch them._

_"Can... Can I touch your tails?" Naruto said, reaching for one._

_Kyuubi's eyes shot open. "No don't-" But he was to let as Naruto started to stroke it softly. Immediately the Kyuubi felt limp to the floor as a deep sound started to come out of his mouth._

_Naruto grinned at the Kyuubi's body as he saw one of it's legs start to twitch. He grabbed another tail and started to pet both at once. The foxes purr got louder before it came to its senses. It then proceed to jump away from Naruto with a growl. "I told you not to touch them."_

_"But you looked like you liked it." Naruto said innocently._

_"T-That's not the point!" The fox spluttered. Suddenly the sewer started to light up._

_"What's that?" Naruto asked curiosly._

_"You're beginning to wake up." The kyuubi answered, trying to keep his tails away from Naruto._

_Naruto glanced at the fox. "Kyuubi... Are we friends?"_

_The fox gave the blonde a weird look. "After I tried to kill you?"_

_Naruto smiled. "But you told me what happened and why my parents like Natsumi more than me. So are we?"_

_Kyuubi looked away but let a quiet 'Yes' escape it's lips._

_Naruto grinned happily. "Yay! So what's your name?"_

_"Kurama." Kyuubi answered silently._

_"Okay Kurama-chan! I'll see you later!" Naruto said happily as his body started to fade._

_Kyuubi gawked at him. "How did you know?" She said, shocked._

_"Your tails were soft." Naruto answered as he woke up with a start._

_Flashback end_

**AN:/ This is the story I will write in my spare time. Don't expect fast updates as the other story is my main focus. This is just what I'll write when I'm bored of writing the other one. Also, this is more of a test chapter. Depending on the reviews, I might or might not rewrite this chapter. And PLEASE REVIEW.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Another day that they didn't say goodbye."." Naruto sighed mentally as he walked towards the academy. "And Natsumi won't stop reminding me about it. I wish she'd just leave me alone."

"Hey Naruto! Going to the academy?" Asked a voice. Naruto looked up to see a brown haired teenager. He had a broad nose and defined eye lashes. He wore a black sort with the Uchiha fan on it.

"Yeah Shisui-nii. But they still didn't say good bye" Naruto said sadly. The Uchiha gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Don't be so sad Naruto. I'm sure they haven't forgotten about you."

Naruto stared at him. "How can you be so sure?" He asked, unconfidently.

"I just know he said." Shisui replied, ruffling Naruto's hair, causing him to scowl playfully. "Do you need more help with your training?"

Naruto's face brightened up. "Yes! Will you help me with the Shuriken jutsu this time?"

"Only if you ask your parent for help first." Shisui answered.

"And if they don't help?" Naruto asked. Shisui gave a chuckle. "We'll discuss that later. Now run to the academy."

"Bye Niisan!" Naruto yelled as he ran toward the academy in much better spirits. He remembered the day he met Shisui.

_Flashback_

_"Hey kid! What are you doing around here at this time?" Shisui scolded as he saw a blonde haired kid walk inside the Uchiha compound. "Wait. isn't that the Hokage's son?"_

_"Um, sorry sir. I wasn't looking at where I was going." Naruto apologized, as he began to walk away._

_"Wait, I'll take you home. The Hokage's son shouldn't walk alone, right?" He said jokingly, but he could have sworn he saw the child's fists clench at those words._

_"It's alright. I don't want to bother you." Naruto said, but Shisui continued to walk with him. Even though he wouldn't admit it, it felt nice to have someone with him._

_"So what are you doing out here at this time?" Shisui asked, gesturing to the night sky. "You parents must be worried sick!"_

_"I doubt it." Naruto said under his breath, not expecting the Uchiha to hear him._

_"Why's that?" Shisui questioned._

_"They're usually training my sister, Natsumi at this time." Naruto answered._

_"Then why aren't you with her?" Shisui asked curiously._

_"They... dont treat me the same way." Naruto spoke quietly._

_"Huh? What do you mean?" the Uchiha said, confused._

_"Well, they always focus on Natsumi. They don't pay much attention to me. And whenever I finish something before her, they keep telling me to wait for her. But then I see them tracking her new stuff!" Naruto said, his voice growing angrier as he continued To speak._

_"I'm sure they haven't forgotten about you." Shisui said trying to reason with Naruto._

_"They've been doing it for years." Naruto retorted._

_"Probably some sibling jealousy." Shisui thought. "Anyway, I'll take you to your home."  
_

_They continued to walk towards the Hokage's house. Naruto wouldnt have said it outloud, but it felt nice to have someone walk with him. His parents were too busy. And when they were free, they were usually with Natsumi. Shisui on the other hand was thinking about what Naruto said. It was silly taking what a child said so seriously but the look on Naruto's face was honest. And sad._

_"We're here." Naruto said, walking towards the door. "Thanks for walking me home."_

_"Actually I want to talk to your parents. They must be really worried about you." Shisui said. Naruto looked like he wanted to argue but kept quiet as the Uchiha knocked the door. Hearing no answer, he slowly opened the door._

_The first thing he heard was a girl's laughter. He looked back and saw Naruto scrunch up his eyebrows. There was clear anger in his eyes. This only increase Shisui's curiosity._

_"Namikaze-san?" He called out. The laughter stopped, and he heard footsteps coming towards him. The door opened fully and a blond man steeped out._

_"Shisui? What are you doing here?" Minato asked, puzzled._

_"I found your son walking around the Uchiha compound, so I thought I'll bring him to you." Shisui answered. Only then did Minato notice the child standing behind Uchiha._

_Naruto nervously stepped forward as his father turned his gaze toward. Different emotions crossed Minato's face. From surprise to confused to worry._

_"Naruto, what were you doing outside? You know you're not supposed to stay out at night." Minato said with a stern face. "Thank you Shisui for bringing him to me." He said gratefully as he shushed Naruto inside and closed the door._

_Shisui was deep in thought. It was clear that Minato didn't notice that Naruto was outside. He did sound concern. "But how the hell did he forget about his son?"_

_Flashback end_

A few day later. Naruto had noticed that he would see Shisui walking out the Uchiha compound the same time he was going to the academy. At first it was simple greetings. But eventually they spent more time together. Then one day, Shisui had spotted Naruto practising on how to throw the Kunai properly. Shisui decided to help him out.

A few months later, the two were as close as siblings and had no problem in calling each other that in public. Naruto was the little brother he never had whil Shisui was the sibling Naruto wanted.

Noone knew about their interaction except one person. Or to be more specific, Itachi Uchiha, Shisui's best friend.

Naruto however, wasn't that close to Itachi, the latter being reserved and always speaking in a monotone voice kinda creeped Naruto out. Shisui told him that that was Itachi's way of greeting people for the first time.

_"Naruto stop DAYDREAMING!"_

Naruto's head snapped up from the desk when he heard Kurama's voice shouting at him. Everyone was staring at him.

"Um, could you repeat that sensei?" He asked sheepishly.

Iruka sighed. "I asked you if you can explain why the Shodai Hokage is famous."

"His Mokuton release." Naruto said immediately, ignoring the growl in his mind from Kurama.. "He used it to capture the Bijuu and divide them equally to all the villages, so their power will be balanced

"True, but there is still more." Iruka said. "The Shodai was one of the strongest Shinobi, even without his Mokuton. He founded our village and made alliances with others to prevent another war. Sit down."

Naruto sighed in relief. _"Thank kami I got an easy question."_

Iruka continued to explain about the history of Konoha. It was obvious that most of the class weren't even listening. They all were whispering amongst themselves. As friends._  
_

Naruto always yearned for a friend. Shikamaru was a lazy but friendly person, but wasn't really that interactive and would rather sleep than talk. Chouji was the same, except it was eating than sleeping.

Natsumi on the other hand, has a ton of friends. Almost the whole class was Natsumi's friend. Mostly because she was the 'daughter of the Hokage' or the "Hero of the village'.

The only true friend Naruto had was Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother. They had met when Itachi introduced them to each other, stating that they should socialize with their own age group. Sasuke wasn't like most of the Uchiha, but nor was he like Itachi. He was more like a normal child, not arrogant like most Uchiha's, but not quite like Itahi either.

The two became fast friends. Both of them had parents, or in Sasuke's case parent, who neglected them for their sibling. Sasuke's father always compared him to Itachi while Naruto's didn't compare him at all.

"Okay class! I think we did enought for today. Dismissed." Iruka said finally. instantly, everybody cheered before running towards the door.

Naruto took a bit more time, as he had to wake Shikamaru up, something which he didn't like. As he neared the exit, he saw a raven haired boy waiting for him.

"Hey Naruto. Can you help me with the shuriken jutsu again? I still can't get it right and Itachi's always busy..."

"Sure." Naruto replied, cheerfully. His eyes shifted towards the crowd of girls standing a few feet away,glaring daggers at him.

"Well, actually I think I'll come by later today." He said as the mob began to move closer.

Sasuke looked confused for a second. "Um, okay. Come to my house around 5."

Naruto nodded to the raven haired boy before running away. As if on que, there was a shout of 'SASUKE-KUN!' And the sound of a stampede.

Naruto snickered to himself. His looked back and saw his sister, Natsumi playing with the other academy students. Natsumi turned around and saw her brother looking at her. She pointed her tongue at him before running away with her friends.

Naruto sighed. "Maybe if I become a strong Shinobi, Kaa-San and Tou-San will notice me." He thought hopefully.

**An:/ Still don't have much of a plot yet. Sorry for not updating for a month. I don't have any excuses. But as I said before, I'm not abandoning it. NEXT CHAPTER WILL HAVE MORE PROGRESS AND LESS FLASHBACKS!**

**IMPORTANT!: My exams are almost here so don't expect any updates for a few weeks.**


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